Is Mallorca Worth Visiting? 15 Awesome Reasons To Go
Planning a Spanish getaway and wondering “Is Mallorca Worth Visiting?”
Mallorca is one of the Balearic Islands just off the coast of Spain. While most travelers think of Ibiza and partying when they think of this chain of islands in the Mediterranean, there is sooooo much more to them than that!
When we saw a cheap flight to Mallorca pop up, we were a little bit apprehensive for that reason. Caleb and I, Taylor, are in our 30s now and we’re not looking to party the night away – we’re looking for great food, cocktails, romance, and exploration you know? But, we love Spain, so on the plane we went!
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The “too long didn’t read” is: after spending 4 jam-packed days on the island, we were very pleasantly surprised with how much we loved it and can say that Mallorca is 100% worth visiting! Whether you are a couple who wants to lay by the beach or go hiking around magical villages in the mountains, there are so many things to see and places to visit in Mallorca!
Here are all the reasons why we think you need to add Mallorca to your list of “places to visit” as a couple!
What We Did Not Like About Visiting Mallorca
First, we want to keep it real with you so you know what to expect: Mallorca is experiencing huge tourism! When we were walking down some of the back roads it was like “Oh okay, this is not so bad.” But then you turn down a main street and it’s just PEOPLE EVERYWHERE.
We have been almost everywhere in Spain and you usually don’t have to try too hard to experience the authenticity of Spain. This is not the case with Mallorca and, if we’re being honest, it’s probably why you see “tourists go home” signs on some balconies of Mallorcan apartments.
This will be less the case if you opt to stay in one of the sleepier mountain towns as opposed to Palma though!
PRO TIP:
avoid staying at Magaluf or Palma Nova. These areas are known to be the hotspot for 20-year-old party people and you do not want to be surrounded by drunk, young tourists!
Now, What We Love About Mallorca
1. Beautiful Beaches
They say the Caribbean has the most beautiful beaches in the world but we would die on the hill of “Mallorca has the best beaches” if that hill existed in real life.
The beaches are absolutely dreamy with their white, soft sand that doesn’t get hot and the water. OMG the water. You will never see anything so blue in all your life. When you are sitting on the soft sand and looking out over the blue Mediterranean sea that Mallorca is located in, it’ll make even people who find beaches kinda boring (like us) beach believers.
Fun fact: the water is so blue due to a lower nutrient content so algae cannot thrive as well as
Pair that with decently warm Sea water and you’ve got the perfect pair for kick-booty beaches.
PRO TIP:
Visit Mallorca in the shoulder seasons (Spring and Fall) to enjoy the beaches with fewer tourists around! More enjoyable, more romantic, and an overall better experience. We found October to be an amazing time to visit the island!
2. It’s Super Romantic
Honestly, we’re not sure if we have been anywhere MORE romantic than Mallorca, which was entirely unexpected and we did not think we would want to spend as much time in Mallorca as we did! Aside from basking together on the beach, you have all these beautiful little mountain towns to stroll through that feel a little bit like a dream.
Around every turn, you have gorgeous flowers, cozy little wine bars with incredible Spanish wine, and little tapas bars where you can hole up and share amazing Mallorcan food together.
And don’t even get us started on overlooking the gorgeous sunsets with a glass of wine on a warm night, one of the most romantic things to do for couples! ROMANCE SAY WHAT.
3. Warm Weather
If you’re a normal, living, and breathing human who hates being cold, Mallorca is for you. Being a Mediterranean Island, you get lots of sun with mild winters. Even when it is quite hot, there is always that refreshing sea breeze to chill it all out
Or, you can head to the mountains to get away from the heat of the Palma if you want a little more adventure on the side of cooler temperatures.
2 IMPORTANT POINTS: While you can find ways to get away, Mallorca does get EXTREMELY hot and humid in the summer – around 80.6°F-91.4°F. And, in the winter, it gets down to 57.2°F-62.6°F which is not warm enough to go swimming.
You need to keep this in mind when planning your trip if you are a couple who doesn’t like it overly hot or wants to swim!
4. Gorgeous Landscapes and Mountains
Sure, the turquoise-blue Mediterranean Sea is beautiful enough to make anyone weak but that is not all Mallorca has on the menu. Mallorca is also home to the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range which is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
In the mountain range, you will wind through lush and gorgeous green forests and sand-colored stone that towers high over the incredibly blue water as a backdrop.
When we drove down the MA-10, one of the most dangerous roads on the island with EPIC views, we wanted to stop every 5 minutes to check out a viewpoint.
In the mountain range, you also have incredible hikes and dozens of charming towns to explore along the way.
5. Easily accessible by car or bus
We wanted to be able to give you exact, real-world information on if you needed a car in Mallorca or not so we spent multiple days with a rental car driving around Mallorca and multiple days without, getting around by bus. We are happy to say that BOTH options are very convenient to get around the island.
While the mountain roads can be quite windy, they connect all the little villages very easily, making driving around by car super convenient.
The bus system is also VERY well done, with all the little villages accessible on the main bus lines. The bus system is also straightforward to follow so, even though you are in a different country, it’s quite hard to get lost if you do choose to navigate by bus.
PRO TIP:
if you choose to use the bus, the bus systems in Palma do NOT take credit cards, so get a bus card at the Intermodal station, right across the street and underground from the Antique train station near Plaça d’Espanya. The TIB bus system (for the Tramuntana mountains) takes credit cards. Make sure to tap your card when you get in AND OUT.
6. Dreamy Small Towns
The small villages in Mallorca were by far our favorite, and unexpected, part of the island. The Serra Tramuntana Range and the coastal area of the island are home to quite a few of the most quaint and magical little towns with cobblestone streets and brownstone buildings to get lost in. No matter, if you visit in the Summer or wintery January, around each corner is another beautiful view or winery or gelato store to pop into on your exploration.
The towns feel so old and historical and offer some unique experiences like riding a 20th-century antique train from Palma to Soller or doing a Paella class in a local one-room home in Banyalbufar.
The must-see villages are:
- Deía
- Valldemossa
- Soller (don’t miss the orange festival in April!)
- Santanyí
- Banyalbufar
- Fornalutx
7. City life in Palma
We’ve talked a lot about the relaxing beaches and dreamy towns, but Mallorca also offers the bustling capital city, Palma de Mallorca.
When you’re done chilling by the beach or exploring the mountains you can come hang out in the city center and sit outside on a patio in the warm evening over a glass of wine and soak in the noise, sights, and smells around you! Don’t worry, it’s safe to drink the water in Palma so get those ice cubes!
Palma also has INCREDIBLE shopping. You’ll find lots of designer stores as well as locally-owned stores with interesting fashion and local products to bring home. Parts of it sort of feel like New York on a beach!
8. Incredible food and drinks
The city brings amazing bars and restaurants! Every place you look there is a trendy restaurant serving all kinds of food as well as small, romantic cocktails bars for a nightcap, as long as you’re the legal drinking age!
Mallorca is home to MANY Michel Star restaurants as well as one of the most beautiful restaurants we have ever seen – El Olivio in Deía.
Some of the must-try local Mallorcan foods are:
- Sobrassada – a spreadable, chorizo-like sausage that we are OBSESSED WITH. We talk about it all the time for real.
- Tumbet – it’s like the Mallorcan version of ratatouille
- Ensaïmada – A simple, spiral-shaped pastry made with pork lard. It doesn’t taste porky though, just SO light, fluffy, and delish! Our favorites were at Panaderia S’Estacio in Palma and you can see the bakers making them through a part of the glass floor!
9. Beautiful Accommodations
Even though we feel like a “room is just a room” it’s always nice to stay in a romantic, beautiful hotel or Airbnb. You will find gorgeous hotels adorned with flowers and made of old stone or quaint old Mallorcan-style apartments as we stayed in!
10. So. Much. Culture
It has an overall “artsy” vibe and you’ll stumble into museums and many art galleries as you stroll through the old streets, such as the Frédéric Chopin and George Sand Museum in Valldemossa or the Pilar and Joan Miro Foundation.
There are also many markets such as l’Olivar by the train station or the Santa Catalina market in the trendy neighborhood of the same name!
11. Breathtaking Sunsets
The sun setting over the Mediterranean with the backdrop of the mountain range and stunning rock cliffs (and rock formations in some spots!) is absolutely breathtaking and very romantic! We saw some of the most incredible sunsets that we have ever seen.
PRO TIP:
Everyone says to go watch the sunset at Sa Foradada in Deía, but we do NOT recommend this. While it was very beautiful, it was also SO CROWDED with tourists that it was not enjoyable.
We recommend you check out Santanyi, a village on the south-eastern side, for incredible sunsets and super cool rock formations! Port d’Andratx also had a beautiful sunset and lots of restaurants to grab a glass of wine while you watch.
12. Rich History
Mallorca is not just a beachy town – it has a super interesting history! Mallorca was through Roman rule, and Arab rule, and then conquered by King Jaume I of Aragorn in the 13th century. As you stroll through the streets, you can see the influence of all these cultures in the roads, walls, buildings, and architecture such as the Cathedral.
13. Unique Activities
It’s easy to think that the only thing to do in Mallorca is to sit by the beach. That is one of the reasons we were apprehensive about visiting in the first place – we get bored of sunbathing quickly!
While you could spend your entire vacation sitting by the beach, Mallorca also offers you some unique things to do such as catamaran tours, hiking, scuba diving, snorkeling, cycling, exploring vineyards, or, our favorite, a paella-making class!
14. A good year-round destination
One of the great things about Mallorca is that you can visit it pretty much any time of the year and have a great time with good weather. There is truly NO bad time to visit Mallorca which makes it easier to plan a vacation around when it works for you, holiday time, etc.
This is also a reason Caleb and I think you should visit Madrid, so maybe pop to the capital after?
15. You can get by with English
We didn’t have to pull out Google Translate once on our trip. Sure, the older Mallorcans may not speak English, but everyone that we ran into in the tourism industry (restaurants, hotels, etc) spoke English. This made getting around a lot easier for us.
Try to at least learn SOME Spanish words so you look like you make an effort!
Let’s Wrap This Up: Is Mallorca Worth Visiting?
Well, Mallorca sure surprised us! We were lucky enough to visit in a shoulder season, October, which visited Mallorca incredibly enjoyably and one that we will remember forever. This may change if you have to visit during the busy Summer months as we know not everyone can choose when to travel as we are.
However, even if you have to do so, we really believe that with its mix of relaxing beach time, mountains, and incredible food, Mallorca is absolutely 100% worth visiting! Now that you know it’s worth visiting, you have to know the best time to visit Mallorca!
So, are you going to try to visit this island anytime soon?
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